It has been just over two years since I last worked in an office, after doing a spot of gay modelling in Thailand, the next career role I fell into was farming work in Australia.
When I tell friends or family I am doing farm work, the first thing they ask is why am I doing it, and that I should move into the city and get a office job or something related to my degree. I too used to think this at one point, I remember when I used to work an office job, I was so thankful that I didn’t have to do manual labor and physical work.
Office jobs
After doing farm work I came to a few realizations about working an office job. Although the work is much less body intensive, the daily grind is the real problem. Sitting at the desk all day, not doing any exercise. The 1hour commute to and from work, the fact that you have to work at least 5 days a week for 40 hours, every week for 1,2,5,10,40 years is the real killer. The worst part is you don’t realize it destroys your soul, until its too late…. Well most of us anyway, maybe I’m the one that got away?
Farm work
Okay in an ideal world, I wouldn’t have to do any work, but sadly that’s not how it is. I will admit that working on a farm is harder than any office job I’ve done, but its also more rewarding. I’m outside in the sun, every time I pop my head up I see hills, trees and blue skies, some of the Australian landscape can be breath taking.
With farm work you never know how long work is going to last, somewhere between 4-8 hours, maybe more, maybe less. None of this looking at the clock on the wall, and how you must do your 8.5 hours per day before you’re allowed to go home. If I don’t want to work the next day, I simply tell them the day before, and I have a day off. No need to answer to anyone, or bring written paperwork by a doctor or my boss to clear me taking a day off. I just do what I want, when I want.
The farms are never in the middle of a city, so that makes for an easy commute. Within 5-15mins I am back home, most days I start at 5am, and I’m back home for noon. I am not saying I would love to do farm work forever, because I wouldn’t, I’m too lazy, but for sure it beats mundane office any day of the week.
A lot of farm work is seasonal, which fits better to my lifestyle, as I like a mixture of balance and play. Three months of work followed by three months of no work, brilliant! Show me an office job that gives you that kind of flexibility, and I would do it. Sadly they are few and far between, and to get such jobs, you have to work 5-10 years in one field, and aint nobody got time for dat, aint nobody!
In one of my future posts ill try and give you a typical day of what farm work is like in Australia, a day in the life of style.
